Giorgio Ascanelli on his way out at Toro Rosso
Absent at Hockenheim, Giorgio Ascanelli, technical director of Scuderia Toro Rosso since 2007, is rumored to have left his position within the Faenza team. The Italian is said to be sought after by Mercedes as well as Ferrari, where Pat Fry would like to delegate track operations management to him.
In Hockenheim, the Scuderia Toro Rosso arrived without its technical director, Giorgio Ascanelli. Nothing unusual, however, when considering that some technical directors, like Adrian Newey, sometimes prefer to stay at the factory to oversee the development of the cars. But, officially, the Italian engineer who took on the technical direction in Faenza in 2007 is said to be on “vacation.”
But according to leaks from the Italian press, which finds it hard to believe that the Italian could have taken a vacation during a Grand Prix, just a few weeks before the summer break, Giorgio Ascanelli’s absence might be the result of a discussion that took place between the Italian and Franz Tost, the team director, who is currently experiencing a disappointing start to the season.
The divorce could already be finalized, and according to paddock rumors, Giorgio Ascanelli might end up at Ferrari, which has long coveted him. The technical director of the Maranello team, and a friend of the 53-year-old engineer, indeed wishes to delegate to him the responsibility for track operations, which he currently oversees. Ascanelli would be returning to a team he was part of at the start of his career in 1985 for two years and then again between 1996 and 2002.
The former race engineer of Gerhard Berger as well as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna is also reportedly sought after by Mercedes to collaborate with Aldo Costa.
At Toro Rosso, the team is already searching for a replacement for Giorgio Ascanelli, while Luca Furbatto, who was poached from McLaren in the off-season to become chief designer, would temporarily assume the role of technical director.
